"To FE or not to FE...

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
– that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the rear to suffer
The weight and width of outrageous block size..."

So... I'm in the throes of deciding what motor to put into a Mk II. Other than weight and cost can anyone who's been there tell me all the downsides of putting in an FE? I know it's wider and longer than a Windsor, but what exactly does that mean for me as the owner, installer and driver?

Also, anyone know the cost of the FE parts kit? Dave at SPF didn't know and doubted that they would swap with me for the 351 kit (which is what I have). If it's all about exhaust, where else can I get an FE bundle of snakes? What about engine mounts?
 
Make it an Alloy FE & weight would not be a problem, but since your probably going to be stuck with a ZF or ZFQ then you might as well go with the Windsor engine, nobody can tell whats under the rear clip @ 150mph anyway..
 
Keith Craft built my 496" stroker 427 aluminum side oiler. A ford is quite a bit more expensive to build with the same hp than a chevy. You can have a pretty nasty LS7 for 20k or a so, so FE that leaks oil at the drop of a hat for the same price. I had 42k in my 496 and worked on it continually. Synthetic oil would run though it like a sieve, but when it was running right it got your heart going. I imagine the more stock you keep it, the less trouble it will be. Talk to Keith Craft, he does good work.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
Ford 385 series alloy big block. It can be bigger than a FE ever thought about being, cheaper, and make more power. Oh, it won't leak either as it doesn't have the funky intake/head thing the Farm Engine has. And, you'll be unique as I don't think anyone has ever done one in a GT40 before, ever.
 

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
Keith Craft built my 496" stroker....I had 42k in my 496 and worked on it continually. Synthetic oil would run though it like a sieve,... Talk to Keith Craft, he does good work.

So let me get this straight: Keith Craft is really good (this I knew). BUT he built you a 42 THOUSAND dollar engine that leaked like a sieve and required constant work.

Yeah, I definitely won't do that (whatever that was). But somehow it doesn't sound like the choice of an FE is what got you into trouble....
 

Rick Muck- Mark IV

GT40s Sponsor
Supporter
If your SPF was not ordered for the FE, you will have issues. The FE chassis have different rear "hoop" and mounts are different. The FE install kit is about $1500.00 when ordered from SPF.

The exhaust is but one item that is different for the FE to Windsor exchane.

Yes, you can do an FE in a car meant for a small block but you will do some fabrication and modification. Much cheaper/easier to order it for the FE.
 

Ron Earp

Admin
"funky intake/head thing?" I guess that's a technical term.... Other than "gasket" I can't think of what you might be referring to...

Yep Alan, that is a technical term that describes the FE engine's odd (to me) method of having the pushrods go through the manifold and requiring valve covers to be pulled to remove the manifold. Not like you wouldn't be doing that on other Ford motors but hey, I'm not an FE fan. Pay me no mind.
 

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
The FE chassis have different rear "hoop" and mounts are different. The FE install kit is about $1500.00 when ordered from SPF. ....Yes, you can do an FE in a car meant for a small block but you will do some fabrication and modification. Much cheaper/easier to order it for the FE.

Mark -- thanks! When you say "mounts are different" do mean that's how the rear hoop differs? Or are you saying that the mounts in the kit are different? Or both?

Other than that, what fab/mod would I have to do? (I can afford $1,500 and some mod/fab. I cannot afford to buy an additional MK-II roller for an FE to go into.)
 
My SPF MK11 had the Roush Windsor based 427, but if I were doing it again I would go with a Shelby or Pond aluminum block FE side oiler(the Shelby is really not a side oiler, but looks like one). the side oiler in my Kirkham cobra was the best motor I ever had and did not leak, it was an iron block with aluminum heads and intake with webers, a beautiful engine with breathtaking performance and torque. It is the right motor for a MK11 and nothing else really looks right. Forget the 385 motors, heavy, ugly and not correct. At least the windsor is easy and cheap, if not correct. My 427so


motor007.jpg
 

Steve C

Steve
GT40s Supporter
Alan,

P2125 here.

SPF MK11 with Aluminum Keith Craft 427 that does not leak and has 5k miles on it.

IMHO only way to go if you are doing MK11 and real reason I did a MK11 as I wanted the 40 FE powered.

Lots of pics here in SPF Forum (search for P2125) and if you click the Superformance Advertisment banner and go to GT40 pics you will see lots of pics as well.

Im really happy with my choice.

If you want to talk PM me your PH#.

Steve P2125
 
you can definitely build an aluminum FE for the same or less than a Roush 427r and about the same weight as the iron block windsor. Also, you never have to apologise about your choice when someone asks what motor you have.
 

Seymour Snerd

Lifetime Supporter
... you never have to apologise about your choice when someone asks what motor you have.

Yeah I find it kind of curious that people deliberately choose a 427 displacement and yet base it on a Windsor. But wait... an FE "427" is really a 425, but is that true of a Windsor "427?" Expiring minds want to know....
 
So let me get this straight: Keith Craft is really good (this I knew). BUT he built you a 42 THOUSAND dollar engine that leaked like a sieve and required constant work.

Yeah, I definitely won't do that (whatever that was). But somehow it doesn't sound like the choice of an FE is what got you into trouble....

Synthetic oil is not for FE's. The engine was originally built by someone else who shall remain nameless (not me) I had problems and Keith fix it. At last count I had 42k+ into it.
 
Yep Alan, that is a technical term that describes the FE engine's odd (to me) method of having the pushrods go through the manifold and requiring valve covers to be pulled to remove the manifold. Not like you wouldn't be doing that on other Ford motors but hey, I'm not an FE fan. Pay me no mind.

The pushrods through the manifold was a giant pain in the butt, you had to remove the entire valve train to remove the intake manifold!
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
The pushrods through the manifold was a giant pain in the butt, you had to remove the entire valve train to remove the intake manifold!

Not to mention the fact that if the manifold was an iron one, you darned near got a hernia lifting it off the top of the engine! :stunned:

For my money these days - The FE would only be important to me if I wanted a perfect spot-on replica right to the nth degree. Otherwise, I'd build a Windsor stroker or purchase one from Ford Racing;

Ford Racing Performance Parts []

m-6007-z427frt.jpg
 
I'm in the "If it's a MKII, the it must have an FE" camp.

Tom Lucas at FE Specialties in Sacramento built my Kirkham's 482 FE with Shelby block. After 1,000 miles, runs awesome and doesn't leak. Knock on wood.

I agree with Chuck. There's just something about a big block.
 
To me, a GT40 replica is just that--something that is attempting to emulate something great. The GT40 Mk 2 used a 427 side-oiler motor with a single four-barrel carb, and aluminum heads.

For the life of me I can't imagine why so many people have chosen to buy or build their replicas with stroker Windsors instead. Forgetting for the moment whether one type of engine or the other is better, or cheaper, as far as I'm concerned, once you've moved away from the side-oiler 427, you no longer have a Mark 2 replica. You might as well just stick a Chevy in it.

The notion of saving one or two thousand dollars by building a Windsor instead of a proper 427, on a $100K+ car is laughable to me too.

As for me, I've always been a fan of the Mk 1 body style, and when I get mine (someday, yes, I'm an acknowledged wanna-be!) it will have a 289/302-based engine.

Oh, and my 427 Cobra replica (that I do currently own) has a genuine, 1966 Cobra over-the-counter crate engine that was subsequently hot-rodded a bit. But it's still a proper 427.

And yes, it leaks. I claim full responsibility for that; when I reinstalled the intake manifold I failed to seal it properly, and it leaks a bit at the back. So what? Oil is cheap. :laugh:
 
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